How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Thirty: Forced Together - Part One

Yeah, but then I would have wanted to see you, and if I saw you, then it would be harder to walk away again.

"We will talk more about this at the hotel, when I am not at risk of running over a moose," Ryland decides, thankfully shutting me down before I can accidentally admit my thoughts out loud. "Tell me more about your 'crazy' sister, Heather."

- - - - - - -

The hotel that was rented out for this gathering is not very large, but the dark brown, five-story building is definitely a good place for all the cats to gather. While everyone paid for their own room, it was all booked by the host of this year's meeting to allow us a discount, as well as make sure we all end up in the same hotel to make it easier to reach the conference room in time.

I lead the way inside while Ryland carries our two duffel bags, one in each hand. As I approach the desk, I take note of the other cats lingering in the lobby. Both of them have taken interesting in us, but neither make any move to approach. Whether it is common courtesy, or because Ryland looks intimidating when he is in a bad mood, we might never know.

It is a grand room with high ceilings and has an air of fanciness, while still looking like a giant lodge. There is a lit stone fireplace on the right side of the room, surrounding by plush chairs and couches, with a couple of low tables scattered about. The floor is made of a dark, multi-colored stone and there are a few large rugs around the sitting area and doors, most likely to ensure that no one slips in puddles during the snow season. The front desk is to the left side of the room, facing the fire. There are three elevators at the back of the room, as well as many corridors leading into different parts of the hotel. It appears they even have an indoor pool.

The woman at the front desk smiles when I stop in front of her work station, with Ryland only a few inches behind me. "How can I help you?" She asks politely, her hands resting on the computer keyboard in front of her. When she glances behind me and her eyes catch on Ryland, I not-too-subtly stomp on his foot, causing his scowl to melt away into surprise.

I pull the registration papers out of my back pocket as well as my ID and credit card, "I'm here for the C.A.T. conference and need to check in."

When she holds out her hand for the papers, I hand them over with my credit card and put my ID on the counter in front of me. She starts clicking away on her computer. While she does that, I turn my head to look at Ryland over my shoulder and he stares back. I roll my eyes at him and he growls at me, though it is too soft for the woman behind the desk to hear.

"All right, you have our king suite on the top floor. Here are your keys," she says, passing over my papers and credit card first. I slip everything into my back pocket before accepting the pair of card keys she is holding out. "Take the elevator up to the fifth floor, turn left once you exit the elevator, and your room is the last door on the right, straight ahead. Room five-hundred and twenty-one."

I spend another couple of minutes asking her about parking and food, since Ryland was waiting for me when I returned home so we could leave immediately and I am feeling rather hungry, but we are soon walking towards the elevator. It is only when we are inside and the doors are closing behind us that I realize a very important fact. "Didn't you book your own room?" I ask, reaching out to take my bag from him.

While I am taking my bag, Ryland snatches one of the card keys with a smile. "No," is all he says. I might have been okay with this, if it were not for the fact that the room I had booked for me was only a single king bed with no pull-out. There is a couch, from what I remember, but it is not something anyone would be comfortable sleeping on.

Even though it sounds tempting, I decide against starting an argument about something that cannot be helped, and step out of the elevator the second it dings to let us know we have arrived. The walls are a light brown, with white doorframes and dark brown doors. The floors are covered in the same stone as the lobby. The hallway is well-lit by tan wall cone lights.